


Summer's Smile with Winter's Skin

by smokeandjollyranchers



Category: Critical Role
Genre: Blood and Injury, F/M, Shameless Smut, Smut, but nothing the healer couldn't handle, really it's mostly smut, they be fuckin'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 07:17:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17782994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smokeandjollyranchers/pseuds/smokeandjollyranchers
Summary: "Caleb nods, and Jester can feel his breath on her neck. She kind of wishes the first time she got to see Caleb all shirtless would be more fun than this, so that she could’ve poked and teased and all the things she does that makes him turn that pretty shade of scarlet. Instead, she focuses her energy into her fingers, and asks the Traveler for just a bit more, just to close this one too.  He grants her request, and she’s able to stitch up the wound against his ribs."





	Summer's Smile with Winter's Skin

Jester trails a finger across his collarbone. 

She moves slowly,  _ softly _ . As her finger passes, the blood from his wound stems, until it stops, the only sign of the gash ever having been there a black bruise trailing her fingers. Caleb’s head is resting on her shoulder, his breathing rough as she works. Most of his chest is a patchwork of bruises and blood now, and she moves her hand to the next gash.

He shivers as she does, either from pain or the chill of her hands. Hopefully it’s just because she’s cold. “Are you still doing okay?”

Caleb nods, and Jester can feel his breath on her neck. She kind of wishes the first time she got to see Caleb all shirtless would be more fun than this, so that she could’ve poked and teased and all the things she does that makes him turn that pretty shade of scarlet. Instead, she focuses her energy into her fingers, and asks the Traveler for just a  _ bit _ more, just to close this one too.  He grants her request, and she’s able to stitch up the wound against his ribs.

He  _ groans _ , but she keeps her hand pressed until she can’t feel the heat from his blood anymore. Jester feels his hands clenching in her skirts as the pain passes. She brings her other hand up to rest in his hair, wiping her bloody one on the sheets of the bed in the Inn. They’re  _ probably  _ going to have to have to pay for the mess they’ve made of this room, but that’s okay. “How are you feeling?”

Caleb lifts his head to answer her, and his hand snatches his discarded shirt and he’s coughing blood up into it, staining it with even more red. Jester keeps her hand his hair, keeping it away from the mess. He spits, and looks at her. “I do actually feel a little better.”

“Good, that was probably just still in your lungs when I healed you.”

“Yay.” He cheers weakly, falling back into her shoulder as the tension leaves his body. Jester hums, stroking his back.

“We should move you off this bed, you’re basically swimming in your own blood.”

He lifts his head again, looking at himself, then at her. “Fuck is that  _ all _ mine?”

“Yeah….this….this was  _ really _ close, Caleb.” She meets his eyes, shaking her head. “ _ Not again. _ ”

“Not again.” He promises, pushing himself up. She helps him, leading him over to the other bed in the room that isn’t covered in his blood. Jester eases him down slowly, and he falls back, his hand still on hers. “I know you’ve already done more than your share for me today, but please stay.”

She swallows, looking down at herself, and the blood on her dress. “Help undo my back, I’m not making a bigger mess than you already are.”

He snickers, lifting his arm up so he can loosen her ties. It’s not the best job anyone’s ever done, but she’s able to shimmy out of it, her slip thankfully free of bloodstains. She sighs, crawling back into bed with Caleb. It’s awkward for a second, they both know they’ve been flirting, and they both know they’re in a weird middle ground, but today changed something. His hand comes to rest in her hair, and he sighs.

“Thank you, for saving me.”

“Thanks for  _ not dying _ .” She grumbles, looking up at him. “Don’t do it again.”

“I promise it wasn’t on purpose.”

“Still.” Jester relaxes into his chest. All she sees are the blacks and blues across his skin, and she feels like she should’ve done more. Her eyes follow the breaks over to his arm, where his bandages are torn and bloody. “Oh, Caleb we should change those too.”

He winces, moving his arm away. “No, I’ll do it later.”

“Caleb, it’ll take me a second-“

“Please.” His voice is rough, and she lifts an eyebrow him. “Please don’t.”

“Caleb I don’t care about-“

“I  _ do _ .” There’s a broken edge to his voice, and Jester sits up.

“They need to be changed, if you want me to leave while you do it, I will. But please? I can’t keep looking at your blood.”

He sighs, but pulls himself up so he’s sitting. Caleb unwinds the bandages carefully, methodically almost. He doesn’t make her leave, but he doesn’t look at her either. Jester’s never seen them this close before. There’s so  _ many _ of them. And they’re all different shades of pink, some were deeper than others.

“Caleb?”

He doesn’t look at her, just tosses the bandages to the side, staring at his arms.

“Caleb? I’m going to touch you now.”

“Don’t, I don’t want...I…”

“I won’t if you don’t want me too,” She swears, holding up her hands. “I just want to hold you.”

He pauses for a moment, then he opens his arms. Jessie grins, crawling so her back is pressed against his chest. She makes sure to be soft, and he wraps his arms around her, his head buried in her neck. She runs her fingers over his arm, slowly,  _ softly _ , as though they’ll heal if she does.

“They aren’t bad, Caleb, it’s okay.”

“I just can’t look at them.” He whispers into her skin. Jester sighs, bringing one of his arms up and she presses her lips to his skin.

“I’m not saying you should, but if it would make you happy, I could help you cover them.”

“It’s too late to heal them.”

“I know.” She continues tracing them, softly, like she’s memorizing their pattern. Maybe she is, she’s certainly never been granted access to this much of him before. She wants to remember every line of his body, in case she’s never given this privilege again. “But I can change this, I’m  _ really _ good at tattoos, if you want? I can help you get your arms back, so they’re yours again.”

Caleb freezes, and Jester swallows, wondering if she’s gone too far. She’s already formulating a response, to defend herself, to apologize. Then she realizes he’s wrapped his arms around her tighter, again. He’s shaking, holding onto her as tightly as he can without hurting her. “You...you can do that?”

He whispers it, into her neck, softly, his breath warm over chilled skin. Jester nods, covering his arms with hers. “I can, with whatever you want, however you want. But I can help you, and I hope you’ll let me, because I don’t think I can live with losing your arms again, not now that I know how they feel.”

“Jester-” His voice holds something, a warning, a plea? She isn’t sure, but she turns around, so that she’s facing him, and she presses her lips against his. Caleb’s surprised, he usually is whenever Jester initiates any sort of contact, but she doesn’t stop this time, she kisses him again, and again, until his shock fades, and he’s kissing her back, until he’s holding her again, until they’ve somehow melted into his bed, his arms around her. 

She holds herself up above him, looking down at him. Caleb has that blush across his face, the scarlet one that makes her smile. Jester sits down on his stomach, and his hands come to meet her hips. He stares up at her, like she’s not real, like she’s  _ holy _ . It’s unnerving and addicting at the same time. “I’m not hurting you, right?”

“No,” He sighs, a small quirk of his lips. “I know you’re holding yourself up, you don’t have to. You aren’t going to hurt me.”

Jester grins sheepishly, caught, and she relaxes her legs, allowing her to actually sit on Caleb. He grins up at her, a little confused,  _ very _ nervous, but his hands never leave her hips. Her fingers trace down his chest, like before, but this time it’s different, she never takes her eyes off of him. He watches her, he always watching her but now he’s not pretending he isn’t. She trails her fingers down his stomach, watching the muscles twitch under her fingers. Caleb closes his eyes, a quiet exhale escaping his lips. “Jess, what are you doing?”

“I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious.” She giggles, leaning back up to kiss him. His hands finally move, wrapping around her, fingers back in her hair. He kisses her  _ hard _ , unlike he ever has before, and Jester melts into him, until their chests are flush together. Caleb breaks before she does  breathing harder now.

“Jester…”

“You and me, we’ve been pretending that there’s this thing between us that we don’t need to talk about, and we flirt, and we’ve kissed, and it’s  _ fun _ . I really like it, I like that I know you better than everyone else does, I like that when I meet your eyes sometimes, It’s like we have this whole  _ life _ that no one else knows about. I  _ like _ that, a lot. But...but you almost died today, Caleb, and that would’ve been  _ it _ . Nothing left. I can’t keep doing  _ that _ . I want  _ more _ , and I want it from  _ you _ .”

Caleb sits up then, pushing Jester into his lap. She wraps her arms around his neck, their lips only inches apart. “You’re sure?” He asks her, breathless. “You’re sure you want that from me?”

“I know you won’t give yourself to me for you, so I want you to do it for  _ me _ .”

He  _ kisses _ her then, unrepentant, his tongue tracing her bottom lip. Jester whimpers, wiggling her hips a little. Caleb’s breath hitches, his hands coming to rest on her hips. “You have no business being this much of a vixen.”

“But here we are,  _ Cayyyyleb _ .”

His tongue traces the shell of her ear, and Jester  _ shivers _ in a way she’s never felt before. Lips trail down her neck, coming to rest at her shoulder blade. Caleb hums for a moment, then he bites her, softly, and Jester isn’t able to stop the moan that spills from her lips. Fingers dig into her hips harder, and she’s able to feel his cock through his trousers. She would giggle if she wasn’t so transfixed on the way his teeth feel in her skin, and her fingers wrap in his hair.

Curious, she moves back to kiss him, and he meets her eagerly. Jester pushes, and Caleb falls onto his back, letting her drape herself across his body. Her tongue moves against his, before she catches his lip in her teeth. He hisses, grabbing her hips again, grinding against her slowly. She copies his move from earlier, trailing kisses down his neck, until she returns his bite, and Jester swears his back nearly arches off the bed. She looks up at him, trying to supress the wicked grin on her face. It isn’t working.

“Oh,  _ Caleb _ .”

“You’re here to torture me, aren’t you.” He huffs, and Jester shrugs, wiggling a little just to see him moan again. Caleb growls, and suddenly she’s on her back, and he’s kissing her again, one of his thumbs rubbing her nipple through her slip. She whimpers, her hips moving a little, and she can  _ feel _ his smirk against her lips. “I’m going to return the favor.”

“I’ve  _ barely _ started torturing you, Caleb.” She meets his eyes, but there isn’t challenge in his, only resolve. He slides the straps of her slips down, lips following newly exposed skin. He works slow, methodically,  _ torturously, _ and Jester worries she might be in over her head.  _ She, of course is, but that’s never stopped her before _ .

There’s a chill up her thigh, and Jester gasps, unfortunately realizing she’s lost sight of his other hand. Caleb stops for a second, looking up at her. “We talk a lot of big bluster, but, you’ve never done this before, right?”

Jester blushes, crossing her arms. “So?”

“I’m just checking, one more time, you want to do this, with me?”

Jester nods, a smile creeping onto her pouting face. “Yes, I really do want to do this, with you.”

Caleb nods, a grin on his face. “Okay, good.” He slides down, pushing her slip up. “I’m not going to pretend I really know what i’m doing either, it’s been a  _ very  _ long time, so you just keep talking,  _ ja _ ? Let me know.”

“I’m very good at talking.” She hums, watching him carefully. There’s something incredibly  _ beautiful _ about the way his hands look on her thighs, and it occurs to her she’s never going to forget this moment. Caleb spreads her thighs carefully, his eyes darker than she’s ever seen them. He sighs, and lowers his head between her thighs.

She isn’t sure what she’s expecting, but it wasn’t for this to feel  _ good _ . His tongue is warm, and she throws one of her legs over his shoulder. His hands grab her ass, holding her against him, and he keeps running his tongue over her pussy. “Holy  _ shit _ , Caleb.”

She can’t see him, but he moans, holding her tighter, and moving his tongue faster. Jester giggles, unsure of how to handle the sensation. “ _ Ah, _ it’s fucking good, by the way, ch-checkin’ in.”

Caleb smiles, she can  _ feel _ it, but he doesn’t break his rhythm. Bless the  _ fuckin’  _ Traveler, because if he stops now, she might have to kill him. She’s heard her mother and other ladies gossiping about this for years, but she’s never had a clue what to expect, why anyone would want this, but she understands now, Caleb’s tongue working against her like he’s not had a decent fucking meal in days. Jester whimpers, her hips fighting against Caleb’s hands, but he doesn’t let her go. “ _ Caleb,  _ ah,  _ I’m _ …”

One of his hands move, and Jester thinks she might be catching a break, until she feels one of his long fingers inside her, and she can’t stop the moan from spilling from her lips. Her fingers find their way into Caleb’s hair and she whimpers. Distantly, she can hear him moaning again, but he adds another finger curling them in time with his tongue, and Jester feels her back arching, feeling like she’s falling, like she’s flying to the edge of a cliff and she’s going to fling herself off of it. “ _ Fuck, Caleb! Fuck!” _

Jester howls, not even thinking about the fact that the rest of their friends are in one of these rooms somewhere, she’s much too busy grinding against Caleb’s tongue to think of too much else. She falls back on the bed, unaware she had even come up from it, her arm thrown over her eyes. “Holy fuck. Is it  _ always _ like that?”

Peeking under her arm, she watches Caleb run his tongue over his lips, and somehow, even in her haze, she feels arousal stab her again.Her tail is wrapped around his other arm, she didn’t even  _ realize  _ that. He smiles, pressing a kiss to it quickly.   _ Gods, _ she’s pathetically horny. She curls her finger, and he obeys, coming up so he can kiss her again. Jester tastes herself on his tongue, and it makes her possessive in a way she barely understands, except that she knows as long as she fucking breathes, no one else is ever going to be on Caleb’s tongue. He moans into their kiss, his hips moving against hers without his consent and Jester breaks the kiss, looking at him.

“Caleb, I want you now.” She flips them, so that he’s back under her, and he stares up at her with pupils blown wide, and she’s struck by how cute humans can be. “Sorry, but i’m gonna be a little bossy, okay?”

“ _ Ja _ , g-go for it.” He sighs.

“Ditch your pants, Caleb.” She orders, and he does, quickly, sliding his pants down his legs. Jester grins down at him, tongue caught between her teeth. “Okay, so...just so you know...since we talked about it...I haven’t…”

“We’re on your time, Blueberry, I’m ready to do whatever you want.” He promises, and Jester smiles at him, a weird swell in her chest that she isn’t ready to look at right now. Instead, she crawls up on her knees, and reaches between her legs to find Caleb’s dick.

“Oh hey, by the way, you have a  _ really _ nice package.”

“And here I’d hoped we’d make it through this without a dick joke.”

“Did you  _ really _ , Caleb?” She laughs. Caleb rolls his eyes, looking like he might answer, but Jester takes a deep breath, and sinks down  _ slowly _ . Her breath hitches, and Caleb moans. His teeth are buried into his lip, hands clenched in the sheets next to him. It’s….intoxicating, the way he looks beneath her. Jester takes a couple deep breaths, adjusting. “Are you good?”

“Even you breathing is driving me crazy.” He hisses, but he’s smiling. “I could do this for  _ hours _ .”

She smiles at him, hands resting on his chest. She tries to be careful of the bruises on his chest, but one of his hands comes up, and holds them there. “You sure?”

“I’m sure.” He promises, and Jester nods, moving her hips slowly, testing. Caleb groans, his hands coming up to rest on her hips. He grips, but he does move her, he lets her move as she pleases, which, since she’s  _ her _ , is eagerly. She moves her hips, trying to figure out exactly what she’s supposed to be looking for. Caleb is trying to keep his breathing steady, his hands trembling against her skin. “Jess, I don’t know if I’ll last…”

“Th-that’s okay, Caleb.” She murmurs, arching her back, and a moan spills from her lips. “Cuz this...this feels  _ really _ good.”

“ _ Ja _ , you’re fucking right.” He sighs, fingers digging tighter into her hips. “You’re... _ fucking _ , amazing.”

“You’ll tell me before you... _ yanno _ , yeah?” She stares down at him, her tongue tracing her lips. Caleb growls, flipping them again so he’s above her, lips slanted over hers, fingers back in her hair. Jester moans, throwing her head back. Caleb’s teeth find her neck again, and he bites down, sucking as he does.

“ _ Fuck!” _

“Shit,” Caleb groans. “Jess, I’m gonna, I need to-”

“It’s okay, you can come, Caleb, it’s  _ okay _ .”

He groans, burying his face in her neck, back where all of this had started, and Jester wraps her hand around him as he shudders. He’s able to hold himself up for a few more seconds, long enough to kiss her  _ soundly _ , before he rolls on his side, gasping. Jester gasp, laying on her back, a satisfied smile on her face. She holds her hand out, and Caleb’s fingers find hers. “Are you okay?”

“Of course,” She smiles at him. “Did you miss the part where I was in control of the whole situation.”

“I did  _ not _ .” He smiles. “You made it beautifully clear.”

“I usually get what I want.” She kisses him, then sits up. “Alright, I need to pee, I’ll be back. Get the covers warm!”

By the time she makes her way back, he’s done exactly that.

* * *

When Caleb finally wakes up the next morning, Jester’s already awake, laying in his arms. She has a pen, and she’s been diligently working on a design that travels up his arm. It’s a swell of book pages and water drops, pieces of her, and their friends, and she turns to look at him as he stares at it, a softness in his eyes she normally doesn’t get to see. 

“That’s perfect.” He whispers, and she smiles, settling back into his arms to keep drawing.

“I just want to help.”

"You've done more than enough for me."

"Well here's a little bit more."

He kisses her head, pulling her against him again, and Jester keeps drawing while falls back asleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! Hope it's a great one!  
> youcanreplytothisfic


End file.
